Right Place, Wrong Identity
by princetobias
Summary: Or what to do when your arch nemesis takes your civilian self hostage. It's not that Dick expected a quiet day when he went to the museum in his civilian identity, it's just that he didn't expect to be taken hostage by Slade. rated M for language
1. Prologue

Chapter 1

Media Field Day

Dick's POV

Dick slouched against the wall, preparing himself for the inevitable. It wasn't as if this was a real problem, not really, it was more of a nuisance if anything. And while annoying, it was his own fault he was here. Dick knew what he was getting into from the start, it just felt like a waste of time. Regardless of his thoughts on the matter, it was something he had to do, everyone had to deal with the press at some point. The Titans were more than used to it, they were exposed to everything from news cameras and journalists to excited civilians and their phones. And at this point in his life, Robin was nothing less than a public relations expert. He had grown up with all eyes on him in the center ring of Haley's Circus, then as Gotham socialite, and now as the leader of the Teen Titans. The problem at current was this wasn't about the Titans, and he wasn't currently Robin. At the moment he was Dick Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne and the last of the Flying Graysons, and the press was going to descend upon him once they caught wind he was in Jump City.

Once it became clear Dick was serious about leaving Gotham, he and Bruce concocted the cover of boarding school for him. Suddenly disappearing from Gotham could be explained away through the context of schooling and it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the kid of a socialite. What was out of the ordinary was not hearing from said kid for over a year. His cover would only work so long as he made appearances every now and again, staying active in the public eye. Dick hadn't anticipated the Titans. He hadn't anticipated practically living in his suit, letting his civilian self fade away. Needless to say, he had been slacking, and now he would be making up for it.

The Jump City Museum was hosting an exhibit on a collection of otherworldly debris that had crashed on Earth, and wasn't it just a lucky coincidence that Dick's final paper for school was on that very same topic? At least, that's the story he had given to the the museum's director the day before. Word needed to get out about his return somehow, and he knew that director would sell out to the paparazzi within minutes of hanging up the phone.

And so there he was, after an hour of wandering around the exhibit with no sign of the media in sight. Maybe that director was more discreet than Dick had given him credit for.

Sighing, Dick pushed himself off the wall, maybe he'd get lucky and one of the other museum patrons would recognize him. He wasn't picky, social media was as good a means as any for getting attention. Walking through the narrow archway into the next part of the exhibit, Dick found himself surrounded by otherworldly gems. They were nothing he hadn't seen before; priceless hunks of rock, a few probably imbued with power. It was interesting enough, but not why he was there. At this point he honestly just wanted to leave. It was almost a relief when the alarms went off.

His first thought was _Thank God I can finally leave_

His first thought was _There's a criminal_

His first thought was _I'm not Robin_

As panic quickly engulfed the room, Dick found himself slouching against the wall once again. There was little help he could provide outside his suit, and the other four Titans could handle whatever petty burglar or villain of the week was behind this without him.

Two gunshots pierced through the air, causing Dick to jump to attention. The loud array of panicked voices that had filled the room quickly turned into a quiet hysteria as the gunman made his presence known. Standing in the arched entrance way the man spoke in a calm, commanding manner.

"Sit down." He demanded.

Looking over at the man Dick felt his stomach drop, "Well, shit."


	2. Playing the Bait

Chapter Two

Playing the Bait

Slade's POV

Slade liked to think of himself as a man of many hats. In his life he had been a soldier, a family man, a mercenary, and a villain. What he wasn't was a petty thief, he never had been. And yet, his current situation found him robbing a museum. His time in Jump City and dealings with the Titans had made Slade a large proponent of the phrase, "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." As entertaining as it was to torment the Titans with schemes and lesser villains, they had proven themselves capable of taking out some of the best criminal underlings Jump CIty had to offer. And Slade wasn't willing to risk failure this time around.

It was a gem he needed, and he needed it without the interference of the Titans. There was no criminal underling he could hire to get the job done, there was not thief among them who possessed the ability to outwit Titans.

 _Except for one_ , Slade mused. He frowned at the thought of his previous apprentice and the way that endeavor had ended. Yet another reason he had to do this himself. Dealing with the Titans' usual theatrics was an obstacle he was unwilling to put up with today, so he had taken an extra precaution. He had armed himself with a firearm. Admittedly, there was little Slade knew of the lives the Titans lived before Jump. It was only Robin he knew held any experience in the being hero prior to the formation of the Titans. The rest were all seemingly newcomers, and newcomers were easy enough to scare off.

 _No better way to silence a room_ , Slade thought as he stood in the archway of the exhibit, gun in hand, effectively blocking the only exit. While the Titans were fun for a game of cat and mouse, their team was only playing at hero. There were never any real stakes. If they wanted to stop him this time they would be forced to learn saving the day isn't always as simple as they had been led to believe.

"Sit down."

Slade looked out across the room, while he liked to believe himself above taking hostages, desperate times call for classic human leverage. The hostages were scattered throughout the room, all had quickly lowered themselves to the ground, and now sat silently, beside themselves with fear. Except for one. Locking his eyes with Slade's, a teenaged boy slid his back down the wall nonchalantly until he was sitting along with the others. If Slade had to guess, the boy was around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Amused by the boy's arrogance, Slade made his way over to where the boy sat. As he did the teen's demeanor changed. Instead of the fear and cowering Slade had expected, the boy narrowed his eyes narrowed and flared his nostrils, his posture seemed to tense and he looked directly at Slade with a fierce hatred. And then, as if realizing himself, the boy quickly schooled his features and relaxed his posture.

 _How odd_ , Slade thought as he stopped inches away from the boy. Odder still was the brief flash of recognition he'd felt upon closer examination. The boy's dark hair and toned, tanned skin felt familiar, but Slade couldn't pin where the recognition came from. As he stared down at the teen, the teen stared right back up at him, blue eyes never wavering.

"Is there a problem?" Slade asked, daring the boy to respond.

The boy bristled at that, scowling, but stayed silent.

 _Thought as much_ , Slade thought as he turned his back on the boy, reexamining the room. He had a gem to steal.

Dick's POV

Dick fumed with rage as Slade made his way across the room. Of course it was Slade behind this, it couldn't have been Mumbo or Control Freak or any other kooky villain. No, it had to be the one who posed an actual threat. Had it been any other robbery, he would have been the very picture of a compliant hostage, any other robbery he would have tried to blend in with the crowd, but this was Slade. He had outsmarted the Titans too many times to count, and with the added threat of a firearm in a room full of civilians Dick felt he'd lost control of the situation before he'd even begun to get a handle on it. Any other robbery he wouldn't have played the hero, any other robber he would've held his tongue.

"Yeah," He called out to Slade from across the room, he regretted it before he even opened his mouth. "I've got a problem."

 _If it had been any other villain_ , he thought, _any other villain_. But this was Slade, with a weapon, in a room full of hostages. He couldn't let these people get hurt, even outside the suit he had to do something.

Slade turned around, dropping something into his belt.

"Oh?" He said in an amused voice, "And what exactly is that?"

"I've got a problem with hostage situations," Dick responded, "Never really been a big fan you know how it goes."

He gave Slade a smile laced in arrogance. If he could just distract Slade from the other hostages he could make sure the others made it out OK. He was all the hostage Slade would need to get out of here, if he had play the role of bait so be it.

Slade POV

 _So the boy has a backbone afterall_ , Slade thought as he made his way back towards the boy, _maybe this will be more fun than I thought_

"Get up." He gestured at the boy with the gun. "What's your name?"

The boy stood, a cocky smile splayed across his face, "Dick"

"And what Dick, do you propose we do about your problem? Hmm?" Slade prompted. "Do you think I'm going to let you go just because you're fool enough to challenge me."

"No," The boy-Dick-said, his casual demeanor abruptly changed to that of complete seriousness. "I propose you let all the other hostages go, because I'm Dick Grayson. I'm all the hostage you're going to need."


End file.
